"The Passion of the Christ"

So I saw the movie last night, a 10:30 PM show on opening day. The theater was surprisingly crowded- at least 75% full. Many in attendance had ash crosses on their foreheads, as this was Ash Wednesday. There was definitely a heavy weight to the atmosphere- heavy expectations and curiosity. I was nervous and a bit uncomfortable, because I knew I was about to join a crowd of strangers in watching the mutilation of a religious figure. I felt uncertain adding my ticket to the opening day tally of a film that has attracted so much criticism from so many Jewish figures.

And then we all watched the movie.

"The Passion of the Christ" is, much like "The Blair Witch Project", a film that owes its power first and foremost to the hype that surrounds it. Had this movie not been directed by Mel Gibson, had it not received the year-long (plus) barrage of positive and negative media attention, had it not ingrained itself into the nation's news cycle so solidly before opening, it would certainly not have attracted this furor on its own merits.

It's not a great film, nor is it a terrible one. It's an over-the-top, heavy-handed, gory experience that drives home a single point: Jesus Christ really, really suffered for the sins of humanity, and there was some pretty depraved humanity surrounding his demise.

From all of the hype, I was expecting a film that would get a bit deeper under my skin than "The Passion" was able to. Mel Gibson's reliance on a small bag of moviemaking tricks- extreme slow motion, dramatic music, and explicit depictions of savagery- had the effect of turning the crucifixion of Jesus Christ into an event that comes across like a lower budget version of "Gladiator". And as for the charges that the film is anti-Semitic... I can only say that I was surprised at how black and white the differences between the Jewish high priests and Pontius Pilate have been drawn. As Jesus is being whipped and beaten, the priests squint with evil satisfaction in their eyes as Satan slowly moves among them. Literally! Pontius Pilate calmly questions Jesus, finds no fault, sends him away, the Jews eventually bring him back, demanding his crucifixion... Yadda yadda, there's a lot of back and forth, but this film makes it very clear that Pilate was a decent, Caesar-fearing man in search of the truth- and the truth tells him not to crucify Jesus- but in the end, crowds of hysterical, crucifixion-demanding, Satan-mingling Jews forced his hand.

I am not as familiar with the New Testament, biblical history, or Vatican II as I'd like to be, but it doesn't take a scholar of religion or film to determine that "The Passion of the Christ" makes no effort to dispel the notion that bloodthirsty Jews brought Jesus down to the dismay of Pontius Pilate, regardless of what the accepted historical record or politically correct view of the event would be.

Of course, this is all subjective. Any movie review is subjective, and I think this film will elicit reviews that are even more personal than usual. Different people will have dramatically different reasons to love, hate, and revere this film, and after seeing it, I expect I will be able to understand and respect all of their points.

In the end, this is a film that savages a holy man and showcases humanity at its most rank in an attempt to express an elicit belief. I'm certain it works for many. I would bet, however, that if the film's goal had been instead to clearly and explicitly depict Jesus's message of love, hope, and brotherhood- a more challenging proposition- the public response to the film would be one more in line with Jesus's prayers for humanity than what Mel Gibson has achieved with "The Passion of the Christ".